Posthumain et réception, de The Tempest à Westworld

Abstract

In TV fiction, the character is a surrogate for the viewer ; through identification, the viewer is immersed in the fictional universe and experiences it as the character does. The companionship thus established between viewer and character defines the place attributed to the implict viewer inscribed in the structure of TV narratives. When the fictional universe is posthuman, the fiction stages the issue of the robot’s ontological nature and explores its relationship with human characters by using the emotional trigger of empathy. The use of dramatic irony and empathy in Westworld reveal a multi-layered use of the Shakespearean intertext which redefines the process of reception and reshuffles the narrative treatment of the posthuman.

Keywords

• character
• empathy
• dramatic irony
• posthuman
• réception
• Shakespeare